Optical fibers are coming into increasingly widespread use as an alternative to copper conductors for high-capacity transmission of information. One popular form in which optical fibers are marketed is as optical fiber ribbons, each ribbon comprising a parallel array of optical fibers joined and encapsulated by a plastic encapsulation. Optical fiber ribbons are mass-produced and are often marketed in the form of reels, that is, a length of optical fiber ribbon wound around a cylinder or spool.
Optical fiber ribbon is normally used by cutting a length of ribbon from the reel, stripping the encapsulation from the ends, and manually attaching optical fiber connectors to the fibers protruding from the ends of the ribbon. One example of an optical fiber connector is described in the patent of Bonanni, U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,058, granted Apr. 4, 1989, which comprises a pair of silicon fiber support members into which V-grooves have been made by masking and etching. Free ends of the optical fibers are clamped between V-grooves of the silicon support members. The V-grooves precisely locate the optical fibers of the ribbon so that they can be abutted against a similar connector containing optical fiber ends that are abutted and registered in precise axial alignment. This permits lightwaves on the optical fiber to travel freely through the connector and through the newly connected optical fiber.
Since optical fiber ribbon is now in the nature of a commodity, it is important to reduce the cost at which it and its connectors can be made. Thus, any advance that would allow connectors to be more conveniently attached to optical fiber ribbon, or which would make optical fiber ribbon transmission lines easier to use, would be considered an important and valuable contribution.